The Biker Life part 5

One problem with mounting a bike and heading east, especially before electronic payments and phones is that there really needs to be some planning. I entered the Badlands as the sun was setting and in my youth just assumed that there would be gas stations along the way. For cagers this is often not a problem but when you only average 100 miles to the tank you need to plan things more carefully. Needless to say I did not. I passed by town and crossroads and watched my gas gauge steadily drop. Every station I came across and there were not many, was closed for the evening. I took to the old strategy of stopping and draining anything that was still left in the hoses. That was a common occurrence back then, before the emissions and evaporation controls were put into place. But it was a means of survival. I rode through Wall, South Dakota and not a station was open. I pondered parking my bike and spending the night until a station opened and weighed the risk of foraging the distance to the next town and possibly an open station. I was impetuous and young so I aimed the forks east and experienced the Badlands. Throwing caution to the wind - this is the Biker Life.

See you further on up the road...